Chance opportunity breeds future success
Thorn Park trading store began farming chickens 19 years ago after fortune walked through the door – literally. Now raising in excess of 10 000 chickens, the enterprise is proving...
Prepare for climate change
According to various climate change models, the average temperature in South Africa will increase by 2°C within the next 40 years and by as much as 6°C within the next...
A lucrative market option for macadamias
The market for macadamias is growing. According to Martin van der Merwe of Sabie Valley Macadamias in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, the Chinese market alone has the capacity to absorb 100 000t...
The success of People First Piggery co-operative
Hard work and tenacity have turned a tiny enterprise into a flourishing commercial operation.
The basics of hands-on dairy training
Your Future Dairy Training offers aspiring farmers hands-on and practical training.
Empowerment in the Kalahari
In the semi-arid region of the Kahalari, under the desert sun, the Berekisanang farming project is bustling with activity. Jaco Visser reports on this citrus and table grape farm.
Beira corridor: The good, the bad & the promising
The Mozambique government has committed itself to unlocking the enormous agricultural potential of the Beira corridor, but progress has been slow – and costly.
Transformation will only come through facing hard facts
‘Don’t romanticise small-scale farming’ was the message at the recent Potatoes South Africa symposium held to discuss speeding up black economic empowerment through partnerships.
From cashier to award-winning beef farmer
Pinky Buthelezi never dreamt that leaving rural KwaZulu-Natal for Gauteng in 2000 would result in her receiving the ARC’s 2013 Gauteng Emerging Beef Farmer award. Mike Burgess visited her on...
How emerging farmers can handle price risk
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange offers the futures contract and the put option. Either can provide small-scale maize farmers with peace of mind. The JSE’s Raphael Karuaihe explains.
Transformation: a work in progress
According to some, there is a viable alternative to Minister Gugile Nkwinti’s controversial 50:50 land reform proposal. With this option, the land holds its value and farmers can improve economies...
Mentoring without interfering breeds success
SA Stud Book-Farmer’s Weekly 2014 Mentor of the Year, Pat Hobbs, is highly respected among the Nguni breeders’ community – not only for producing top quality stud cattle, but for...
Improved outlook for beef production
After several years of weak profits, beef producers are more optimistic. Tracy Davids of the Bureau for Food and Agriculture Policy explains why she is bullish on beef.
Shaking things up at Mooketsi
Received wisdom says that for a fresh produce market to be successful, it must be located where the buyers are and not where the producers are. But a new market...
Where have all the young people gone?
Agri science student Lisa Coetzee was one of only two South Africans chosen to attend the Youth Ag Summit in Canada in 2013. Building on her experiences there, she has...
Breathing life back into the villages of Ncora
Hailed as a success story by the Eastern Cape premier, Noxolo Kiviet, during her 2014 State of the Province address, Ncora Dairy shows how private-community partnerships can lead to genuine...
Bucking the export trend
The Buys brothers of Vrede en Lust near Paarl entered the wine industry 18 years ago. After establishing their own wine brand, they developed one of the most successful direct...
Intense lobbying to ensure citrus exports
During the dispute between South Africa and the EU about the perceived threat that citrus black spot might be spread through exported fruit, the first 2014 consignments left our shores...
From Aristotle to avocados – ZZ2’s business model
From humble beginnings ZZ2 has grown into a multi-million rand business. Nan Smith visited the company’s HQ to find out what lies at the heart of ZZ2’s success.
Power from bagasse in Swaziland
Illovo’s Ubombo mill in Swaziland is a showcase of successful electricity co-generation from bagasse. It has increased sugar production in that country and demonstrated that the process is affordable and...
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